The Storey

The Storey, formerly the Storey Institute, is a multi-purpose building located at the corner of Meeting House Lane and Castle Hill in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Its main part is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, with its back entrance being listed separately, also at Grade II.HistoryThe building was constructed between 1887 and 1891 as a replacement for the Lancaster Mechanic's Institute, which stood on a different site, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. It was paid for by Thomas Storey, a local businessman who had been mayor in the year of the Jubilee, and was renamed the Storey Institute in his honour in 1891. Its purpose was "the promotion of art, science, literature, and technical instruction". The building was designed by the architects Paley, Austin and Paley whose office stood nearby. It contained a reading room, a library, a lecture room, a laboratory, a music room, a picture gallery, a school of art, and accommodation for a caretaker. The building cost about £12,000. In 1906–08 it was extended to commemorate the accession of Edward VII. This was designed by the successors in the architectural practice, Austin and Paley, to provide more rooms for teaching. Thomas Storey's son, Herbert, paid £10,000 towards the cost of the extension, which almost doubled the size of the building.